The Greek Tycoon Box Set: The Complete Serial: Books 1-10 (29 page)

“Lie down,” he whispered, and she did.

He lifted her legs over his shoulders and pushed them wide open, the heat making pleasurable ripples over her opening like a scene from a dream.

She watched, groaning with bliss, as he brought his face down right between her legs, his eyes still locked onto hers. It was so intimate. He curled his tongue ever so slowly against her, sending a ripple of deep delight through her, so intense that she shuddered involuntarily, her whole body flinching. Every time he did it, she flinched. She couldn’t stop herself.
 

She looked down to him and saw the satisfaction in his eyes. He loved turning her on, and that made her even hotter.

She spread her legs wider and sucked her just like he sucked her lip when he’d get carried away while kissing. It was the purest form of ecstasy she’d ever felt and soon she sensed ripples of orgasm rising to the surface, ready to burst out in fireworks of sexual glory.

With nothing but his tongue, he slowly carried her to the peak. As she felt that beautiful pressure mounting ever higher, she pushed the back of his head against her, losing herself in his talents.

“Shhh,” he whispered, reaching up to press his finger to her lips. “Shh, darling.”

She hadn’t even realized she’d been on the verge of calling out.

And then it came. The wave that blocked out the entire world. There, in the middle of her rapture, it was only she and Atreus, their love the only thing that existed in the whole universe.

“I love you!” she cried.

As she was drifting down from her climax in a stream of bliss, unable to keep the moans from her lips, he looked up at her with love in his eyes.
 

“I adore you,” he said.

*****

“So,” Cressida announced dramatically, her heels clicking against the polished oak floor of the hotel lounge. “Now that you’re officially employees of the Kostas Hotels group—soon to become the leading name in the luxury boutique hotel industry, by the way—I expect you’re wondering how this is all going to work.”

As Carla watched her from her place on the antique French Louis loveseat with Atreus, she leaned back into his arms, completely content. Cressida was so confident, so capable. She put Carla totally at ease, sending all the niggling worries that popped up about her own ignorance of the hotel business scurrying away into nothingness. Cressida knew it all.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” Carla whispered to Atreus, then surreptitiously pointed to Olivia, Tom, and Hugo, who all seemed somewhat spellbound, and giggled.
 

Atreus stroked Carla’s tanned arm and she could feel the breath of his deep voice against her ear.
 

“She’s a true professional,” he agreed.

Carla watched as Cressida paced and gestured and smiled, just as bright as the chandeliers suspended from the vaulted, alcove ceiling above, which twinkled and glistened and threw tiny rainbows with the light that streamed in through the tall, segmented windows.

 
“I wish I could be like her one day.”

Atreus gave her a tiny, playful slap on the hand and nuzzled into her ear.
 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “You’re
you
, no one but you. Fabulous you. Beautiful you. Wonderful you.”

“Aww,” Carla said, her insides feeling like cotton candy.

Atreus placed his strong hand on her thigh, its bronze deepened by the contrast against the delicate blue of the flowers that danced across the cream linen of her sundress. He moved his hand up just a little, bunching the fabric and sending pleasurable shivers up her spine.

“
Sexy
you.”

Now it was her turn to tap his hand.
 

“Atreus!” she protested in a giggling whisper.

Suddenly all eyes were on them—so they were not quite as discreet as they’d hoped. Luckily everyone seemed more amused than scandalized.

“Sorry, sorry, carry on,” Atreus said.

Carla could feel her face flushing rose and she wanted to turn and bury it in Atreus’ strong shoulder. Instead she gave a sheepish smile and tried to think of something to say.

“Hey,” Cressida said, clapping her hands and rescuing Carla. “Why don’t we get some drinks and continue this outside? It’s such a lovely day and we don’t get many of these in Scotland.”

Her charm was magnetic, so it followed that they all laughed and agreed, and soon were heading out to the Formal Lawn, glasses in hand and high spirits all around.

They settled on a set of elaborate cast iron chairs grouped under a wooden pergola. Carla sipped on her lemonade and admired the roses that peeped out from among the abundance of soft-white jasmine, their petals a muted shade of pink. She could have drifted into a glorious reverie there, gazing up at the clouds as they graciously allowed the breeze to whisper them across the sky, thinking of nothing but love and family and the joys the future held, but Cressida was back to business already.

“I know you’ll be well-versed in all of this, Hugo, but Atreus and Carla have developed a distinct style for their brand, so things might be a little different. So you’ll all continue to stay at the Wellington while we undertake hotel management and customer service training. Do any of you have any existing commitments you need to honor? No? Excellent, because we don’t have long.

“We’re to have a grand opening a month after suitable premises are found. Atreus, Carla, can you tell us more about that?”

“Of course,” Atreus said, glad Cressida was using their first names to address them, as he’d requested. She’d had a few slip-ups, understandably, but Atreus had always liked the personal feel between himself and his senior staff members.

Carla was glad that Atreus had taken the lead when prompted. She’d always hated speaking in front of a group. When she’d worked for Atreus’ sister, Onella, assisting at her designer handbag business, she’d always found herself twisting her fingers in her lap if she knew her turn to speak was coming in the boardroom. As soon as she opened her mouth in front of more than a couple people, it was as if all the blood rushed into her ears and pounded so loudly she couldn’t hear herself think.
 

She was going to have to get used to it eventually. But, for now, she was more than happy for Atreus to speak.

“We want a hotel with a purpose,” he said, commanding the attention of the room. “The reason we love luxury is because it removes the practical stress and strain of everyday life, leaving us space to focus on the higher things, the more essential things in life. Love, friendship, purpose. Art, music, spirituality.”

Carla looked over at his strong jaw, at the passion in his eyes, and was in awe. He was so powerful.
 
A man to be admired.
 

And he was hers. That realization came rushing at her in that moment, and as she accepted it she melted into a whole new kind of love-struck bliss.
 

“Regardless of the amount of money we have, or
don’t
have, for that matter,” he continued, “it is the relationships we enjoy with ourselves, with each other, with the world, with
life
itself
, that mean the most. Carla and I are looking for a place where people can come to reconnect with these higher things, these things that
really
matter, but that we so often lose sight of in day to day life.”

Cressida nodded and smiled.

“In that sense,” he continued, “we want our hotel to be much more than just a hotel. We want it to be a place where people come to remember who they really are, what they really want out of life, what is really important to them.”

“
Wow
,” Olivia said, leaning forward in her seat. “That’s amazing.”

“It’s an ambitious goal, to be sure,” Hugo commented. “I would certainly be glad to be a part of that.”

“So would I,” Thomas said.

“Me too,” Cressida agreed. “And so, we’ve got to create an environment that can help people remember what really matters through our customer service practices. A two-pronged approach must be in place. The first prong is our efficiency. We have to make sure that we take care of 100 percent of our guests’ needs, so they do not have to pay a single iota of attention to their physical needs. We need to anticipate when they might be hungry, thirsty, when they need a bath drawn, what clothes they might need laundered, when they might want a massage or a wake-up call or a private yoga session or, alternatively, when they want to be
left alone!
We’ve got to be more in tune with our guests’ needs than they are themselves.”

“Goodness,” said Hugo. “That’s an impressive program.”

“To be sure,” Cressida replied. “But over the next few days I will be hiring many other staff to assist you in this.”
 

She took a sip of her Pimm’s, full to the brim with cucumber slices and strawberries.
 

“The second prong,” she continued, “is our own attitudes. We need to be mindful of what is important, of all those things about which Atreus spoke.”

All the new recruits nodded eagerly. Carla couldn’t believe what they’d dreamed into reality and she clutched Atreus’ hand under the table.
 

This was the start of a whole new life. A life that, amazingly, had the potential to be
even better
than the one they’d already started together.

*****

Gone out, back later
, Brian scribbled on a piece of the hotel’s letterhead. He swelled with a sense of pride as he realized he’d actually had the decency to write a woman a note before sneaking out of the room in which they’d just had sex. Then he paused and worried that he was getting soft.
 

Surely he couldn’t be falling for this girl?
Could he?

He puffed out his chest, looking at himself in the mirror and chuckled. How could a man so handsome be tied to just one girl? He vowed that he’d never let his feelings get the better of him again—like they had with Carla.
 

She’d done him a favor, anyways, he figured. She’d kicked him right out of monogamy and back into the game. And the game was where all the fun was.
 

Looking back at Olivia’s sleeping figure, her voluptuous hips outlined by the sleek sheet, he sighed. He had to keep her sweet as could be for the moment, so he’d have to be on his best behavior. It all took so much effort.
 

He scribbled
I love you
at the bottom of the note and felt nauseous at the mere thought of it being true. Then he stalked out of the hotel room, closing the door with the quietest click behind him and swaggered down the hallway feeling like a free man. He knew exactly how to get these sappy feelings out of his system; but he didn’t have time for that at the moment.

*****

Chapter 4

“I think our best bet is the opening night,” Tom said, matching Cressida’s polished accent perfectly.

Brian bit into his kebab, dripping red sauce all down his chin.

“Would you stop bloody talking like that? And why are you still wearing that suit?”

Tom grinned and ramped up the poshness of his voice.

“It’s rather fun, actually, old chap. I should speak like this more often. Dress like it too. You know you get quicker service in shops, and no one gives you any grief. You should try it.”

“No thanks, wanker,” Brian said.
 

He was barely listening anyway. His eyes were on the blonde in the corner of the room, looking out the window like she was waiting for someone while moodily chomping on fries. She had a tiny skirt which showcased her long, smooth legs. Her eyes were heavily made up and a tiny handbag hung off her elbow. Her hair straggled a little at the ends.
 

Extensions
, he identified right away. He had become so good at reading women that it was like second nature. He knew instinctively that she was waiting for a date with someone who she was more keen on than he was on her. She was feeling miserable about her looks, about her prospects, about her life. Vulnerable.

Perfect
, he thought.

“Hello?” Tom said, waving his hand in front of Brian’s face. “You up for robbing Atreus Kostas or what?”

That brought Brian right back to reality.
 

“
Shut the hell up, you idiot!
” he whispered, thumping Tom on the arm and looking around to see if anyone heard. A man behind the counter attended to the spinning spike of processed meat. Apart from him, the girl was the only person in the place. “Of course, I’m up for it. It was my bloody idea.”

“Well, then, shut up and listen,” Tom said, stuffing fries into his mouth. “Think about this, right. Opening night, they’re going to have loads of celebrities coming to stay.”

“Who says?”

“Cause that’s what happens with places like this,” said Tom, exasperated. “Even if they’re not
celebrities
they gotta be rich, right? I looked over some of Cressida’s papers and they’re looking at charging a grand a night.”

“What?!”

“Yep. And some of the suites with butler service are ten times that! That shit don’t come cheap.”